Water stability tests on clay soils in relation to mole draining

Childs' method of using moisture characteristic curves of clay soil aggregates as a test of their water stability was investigated as a means of identifying soils that are suitable for mole draining. The results of the test applied to a soil in which mole drains are known to last many years and to one in which they are known to fail shortly after being drawn, were used to assess the suitability of a third soil, taken from two locations a distance of 30 km apart, for mole draining. The tests on a given soil were reproducible on samples collected from different sites over a field except in one case when slaking of the sample during the test resulted in the surface's sealing and an anomalous moisture characteristic curve